Bittersweet Nightmare
by TheJoke'sOnMe
Summary: They say that one has to be truly fearless to work in Arkham Asylum as a guard. We'll see about that. Scarecrow/femOC. So far covered Arkham Asylum, planning to write through all 3 games. Slow burn.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, this is my first fanfic, so don't expect any miracles, but I'll do my best. As it says in the description it's a Scarecrow/femaleOC story, but it'll probably take a while to happen (I just don't like those stories when the take one look into eachothers eyes and puff, true love). English isn't my first language so there will probably be some errors, please feel free to point them out to me. This story is created out of the frutration caused by the fact that my pc is too crappy to play Arkham Knight on it :,(**

 **Disclaimer: As per usual, I don't own Batman or any recognisable characters, the belong to DC. But the rest is mine ;P**

The weather was awful and we're talking 'heavy rain, lightning bolts and thunder' awful. Nothing unusual, at least not in Gotham. Clear sky was a rarity and today was not Gothamies lucky day. To Marie it seemed fitting, the weather reflected how citizens felt. Ridiculously high unemployment rate, ridiculously high number of homeless people, ridiculously low standard of living (for average mortals, we're not talking about the likes of Bruce Wayne here) and last but not least, the ridiculously high crime rate. All those things should make them run away from this place and never look back, but they didn't. Despite all it's flaws Gotham was their home, a depressing one, but still a home. So they trudged slowly through their lives and tried not to think about all those missed opportunities. At least that's what Marie was doing as she walked slowly along the bridge seperating Arkham Island from the rest of the city. So far the best part of her day was the fact that she'll soon be in a _dry_ asylum for criminally insane. Sure the ' asylum for criminally insane' part didn't seem so great, but after few years you can get used to it.

When she finally reached the gates of her workplace she used her ID card to get inside and then quickly ran inside the Intensive Ttreatment building where she headed straight to the locker room. She really hoped that it had occurred to one of the boys to leave some coffe for her. She tended to get grumpy without her morning fix and she never got up early enough to make some at home.

"You look like shit." came a teasing voice from the far end of the room.

"Why, thank you Donnie. You really know how to make a girl's day." Marie replied, smiling as she was handed a cup of steaming coffee. "You and Carol have any plans for tonight? I've been thinking about crashing at your place. Heating in my apartment broke again."

"No problem. I have a night shift so you'll have Carol all to yourslef." He waggled his eyebrows and tried to ruffle her hair but only got his hand slapped away. "By the way, you do remember about that newbie you have to show around?"

"... I knew I forgot about something..." she mumbled under her nose.

"Good luck with that guy, I heard he got accepted only because his related to our beloved Sharpie." He patted her reassuringly on her back and went on to put on his jacket. "I've to head out, I need to get some sleep before the night shift,"

"See ya around." She gave him a small smile and turned to the cup in her hand.

Fifteen minutes and one cup of coffe later she was changed into her uniform and all that was left for her to do was wait for the guy she would play tour giude for.

The moment she thought that the door opened to reveal the latest victim. Not bad, she thought, at least he isn't fat like Sharp, he's not really buff but still from the looks of it he has some muscles. Who knows, maybe it won't be as bad as usual, maybe he will exhibit the ability to think, maybe...

"And who's that blondie?"came a drawl of a person who never had to make any effort in life besides wiping his own ass.

"This blodnie will be you supervisor for today so id I were you I'd try to be less of an ass."

replied the escorting him guard in a tired tone. "He's all yours," he turned to Marie and in his eyes she could see just how bad he felt for her having to deal with the new guy, "good luck with him." With that he ealked out of the room.

"So, what's a prett..."she knew what line was coming next so she interupted him while she could.

"Listen newbie, I don't have any time for this shit so let's establish some ground rules." She tried to look at him as menacingly as she could, but it was a hard task with her big brown eyes that always made her look like the innocent, pretty girl in need of saving. "You don't speak unless you're given premission, even if you do it can be only work-related, listen to me carefully 'cause I hate to repeat myself and don't dare to wander off on your won. Unless you want to die, that is." Well, meybe that was a tad bit too dramatic, but it managed to wipe the smirk off that stupid face so Marie was happy. "Now follow me, I'll show you around."

The thing she hated about introducing new employees to the asylum was just how cheerful and confident they seemed at the beginning of the day and how quickly they would quit. Only the few best ended up working in that place for good. This guy was just like them. Only more annoying. She decided that the key to surviving him would be being as quick as possible.

After half an hour, when she was going back to the Intensive Treatment building, ahe was sure she broke some record of how fast one can show somebody the entire island. Sam, she didn't want but had to know his name, turned out not to be as bad as she feared, but he still managed to be an annoying prick.

"The only thing that's left for you to see is the enterance to Killer Croc's lair, but you won't be assigned to such a difficult case so soon and, even if you really want to see it, you'll have to ask someone else." She was keeping her voice stern, so the boy wouldn't think he'll work there long enough to become even remotely friendly.

"Why won't you take me?" He sounded disappointed."Don't tell me you're afraid."

"It's hard to find a guard who is fine with every single inmate, the management understands it and you can name a patient you don't want to have anything to do with. In my case it's Croc." Now she started to sound almost harsh, but it really wasn't her ideal chat topic.

"Why him?" When she didn't answer Sam started whining. "C'mon, tell me. Don't be shy, I won't laugh at you."He finished woth a laugh.

"Let's make a deal." She proposed and for the first time since her chat with Donnie she smiled, but this time it wasn't really friendly. "I'm guarding Scarecrow's cell today, if you manage to last the entire day in his presence, I'll tell you why I avoid Croc. Do we have a deal?"She extended her hand for him to shake. He accepted the challenge, of course he did, he was that type.

"Well, then what are we waiting for?" he asked sounding more cocky than she thought was possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you all so much fo your reviews :D To be honest I was really nervous when I posted the first chapter by your response was so nice that I'm much more confident as I'm posting this one. Enjoy ;D**

The asylum was utterly boring. Normally Jonathan Crane would have been long gone, after all he's spent there enough time to heal any wounds left from his last encounter with the Dark Knight and to come up with some new ideas of how to terrorize citizens of Gotham. Right now there was nothing left for him to do. His new psychiatrist was a dull old man who didn't even bother to meet with him, instead he chose to rely on his predecessor's diagnosis and simply prescribed some meds. Of course Jonathan had no intention of taking them, during all that time he's spent in the asylum he's come up with different hiding places to stash pills, so that they would think that he was really taking them. During his first few times of being imprisoned there he found amusment in tormenting guards patroling his corridor, but it lost its appeal quite soon as their fears became predictable and often almost cliché.

The olny thing keeping him there was Joker's 'Party'. He didn't really care about what the clown wanted to achieve, but he found that it would be a great opportunity to watch Batman quiver with fear. Goosebumps rose on his skin at the mere thought of it. He couldn't wait for the day when he would finally get to dissect his mind and see what he was really scared of.

"You're late." came the gruff voice of Frank Boles, the guard who has spent the night watching over his cell.

Former psychatrist was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice arrival of two people in uniforms. One of them he recognised easily as Marie, one of the few people in the asylum whose presence didn't bother him. The other person he saw for the first time in his life. It was a young man who oozed confidence.

"Sorry, I had to show the new guy around." she replied apologetically. It really puzzled him why she insisted on being nice even to a scum like Boles. She really was too nice for this place.

"Whatever." grumbled Boles and walked out of the hall without even looking at the newcomer.

The rogue frowned in confusion. What was she doing with that guy here. She didn't just show him what's in the corridor, but dragged a chair from the far end of the hall, where it was previously occupied by Boles, to the front of his cell where she sat down, completely ignoring the young man who was now looking around awkwardly, looking for something to sit on as well. Usually aspirants for the position of a guard spent first few days sitting in front of the cameras and learning all the proper protocols. Yet, here they were, in front of one of the most dangerous people kept there.

"Good morning, Doctor Crane" she turned to him smiling pleasantly. In the beginning he was rather hostile towards her, as he thought that her good manners and the use of his title were just her way of getting on his good side, but with time he realised that her behaviour was genuine. She has always had extremely expressive eyes and it was easy to see when she was being honest and when not. Right now she was, so he nodded slightly in response and even allowed a barely noticeable smile to appear on his face.

"I'm really sorry to trouble you, but I thought that Sam here might need to see what he's really in for." she explained and her smile turned from pleasant to sour.

At that he could hardly withold laughter. What kind of moron was the boy, that she felt the need to get rid of him immediately? Not many people were made fo this job and it wasn't rare that they resigned after less than a month. He knew that she wouldn't just throw some unexperienced fresh meat to him without a good reasoning behind it and he didn't see why he shouldn't do her a favour. After all she did sneak in a few book for him and he preferred to keep them coming. They really were a great way to mute out the unending screams of those patients who lost all hope.

"I see," he said to her and then turned to Sam "come closer boy, after all we wouldn't want to waste time."

A grin broke out on his face as he observed the young man who was now standing just before bars of his cell. That one would be easy, but it wasn't everyday that he got chance to practise his skills, especially in the asylum. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Marie as she stood up and moved to the other side of the hall. She seemed uncomfortable and guilty, but strong in her resolution. Good, now he can unleash the nightmare.

"What the hell?!" the sudden noise made her flinch and qiuckly move the cellphone away from her ear. She glanced at the caller's ID and saw name Donald accompanied by a few emoticons.

"Is that really a good way of thanking me for cooking dinner for your fiance?" she asked with a laugh and checked the roast lamb in the oven. It was a typical occurrence that she would stay over at their place and cook something in return. There was constantly something in need of repair in her apartment and she was a damn good cook, so this solution was satisfying for all of them.

"Mike told me what you did. What made you think that showing the Scarefreak to the new guy would be a good idea? I feard that the poor guy left the place on verge of tears. I talked with Mike and made sure that you won't get in trouble for that one, but it's the last time I'm covering for you and this absurd crush of yours." he finished sounding drained.

"Oh god, Donnie, how many times do I have to tell you I do not have a crush on him." she replied annoyed. "Just because I... enjoy having guard duty by his cell doesn't mean that. You know very well that I like Ivy and you've never given me any lectures about that."

"Yeah but I've never caught you changing the shift arrangements so that you could spend more time with her." when she didn't even try to defend herself after that argument he continued."Don't get mad at me for saying this, but no one want a repeat of the 'Harley Quinn Accident'. I'm not saying that you're dumb enough to fall for the Joker, but you really can't let your feelings cloud your judgement."

"I know what I'm doing." she said quietly, more to herself than him.

"I really hope you do." her friend said and hung up.

Of course she knew better than to have a crush on a dangerous criminal. It's just that he didn't really fit in with the rest of those mumbling maniacs that filled the asylum. He was exceedingly intelligent and could hold a decent conversation. And maybe, just maybe, she sometimes admitted to herself, in those rare moments of complete honesty, that she actually found him a bit attractive. It was all because of those eyes, they were simply mesmeizing. But all of that didn't mean she was falling for the guy. No. Not at all.

"Who was that?" gente voice of her friend, Carol, came from the living room and snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Your man was just checking if I didn't accidently burn you house down." she said laughing, reached for the bottle of wine they've picked out for the night and went to join her friend in front of the TV.

The rest of the night was filled by eating, drinking and laughing. And every once in a while a reminder 'I do not have a crush on Jonathan Crane'.

 **AN: These two chapters were a bit of an intro. The third one will feature events from the game.**


	3. Chapter 3

AN:Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. It keeps me going ;D I won't be able to write anything for about two weeks, but I will upload the dtory as soon as I can. I hope this chapter isn't bad, it was harder to write compared to others. Let me know what you think ;D

Getting stitched up always disturbed her. It didn't really make a difference if it was her, who was subjected to this experience, or she simply had to watch somebody else go through it. It always gave her the creeps. It wasn't necessarily painful, there was always anesthetic involved, but she could still feel the needle pierce her skin and then slowly drag the thread through her flesh. Creepy, creepy, creepy... And she would have to go through it again. Well, not personally, but she would have to watch John Chary experience it.

John Chary was an inmate. Nothing interesting, simply a guy with suicidal tendencies. This time for example he tried to scratch his veins out. Luckily, he didn't succeed, but it would still require stitches. 'Why stuff like that always happens on my watch?' Marie thought with annoyance as she dragged the poor soul out of Penitentiary. She was in a hurry, the guy's life wasn't in immediate danger, he did a poor job with the whole 'scratching-out-veins' thing, but he kept bleeding on her uniform. It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't slouch on her so much but she gave him a strong tranquilizer, so he needed some support. Their way to the Mediacal Facility wasn't made any easier by any of the guards running frantically in the direction of the Intensive Treatment. Of course she heard through the radio that Batman cought Joker, again, but she wasn't on the team assigned to such occurrences, so she just carried on.

The moment she passed the electric gate she accepted the fact that she would need to throw this uniform out, washing out all that blood would be possible, but way too time-consuming for her quickly headed towards the sanatorium where she bumped into Dr. Elster. He glanced at them and, before she could make a sound, spoke.

"Another suicide attempt? I know I shouldn't speak like that about my patients, but it's getting bloody boring." Well, he did have an impresive set of shadows under his eyes, so Marie could understand that he was frustrated. "Let's get him to the secure access, I left my gear there."After that they headed to the elevator, both oh them supporting Chary.

The ride down wasn't usually long, but this this time the trip was cut short, as somewhere in the middle of the line the elevator stopped moving and the lights went out. The first few second were filled by complete darkness and mumbling of Chary, who was slowly regaining his senses. Then, as the emergency light turned on, they moved on to discussing possible reasons of , with their new, shiny equipment from Wayne Enterprise the only logical explanation was involvement of one of the workers so they stopped this discussion. That left a moment of awkward silence as they both wondered about who could've done this. The silence was broke when the normal lights took over from the emergency ones and the screen that was hung on the wall flickered to life. But instead of the usual recording of Warden Sharp, they were greeted by a grinning face of the Joker.

"You have got to be kidding me..." muttered Marie under her breath in a broken voice."He's barely been caught. Is he trying to set a record?" She glanced at . He paled considerably and his clenched fists were shaking, but she could see from his deep breaths that he was trying to stay knew she should do the same and tried to focus on remaining calm.

And then she remembered all the inmates from Blackgate. It couldn't be a what would the Joker do? Try to take over the island? No, that wouldn't make any sense. Then again, nothing about the guy did. But what if he decided to get rid of the place once and for all? With all his men on the island he could do it, they had advantage when it came to their number. 'That's it, we're all gonna die.' she thought as her breaths became a bit erratic and she could feel her palms getting sweaty. Suddenly she felt a lurch in her stomach as the elevator resumed its previous movement. She started listening to what Joker was saying and felt a flicker of hope. He was taunting Batman, that guy would surely find a way to capture the madman, right?

When the elevator door opened had to drag out both the dizzy patient and the brooding guard. There he heard voices belonging to another doctor that he worked with and a guard who visited him earlier that day. When both groups met there was a short chaos as both doctors rushed to help the bleeding patient and two guards tried to come up with a way to survive the night. All that shuffle masked a quiet hissing sound that filled the room.

"The safest thing to do would be to lock ourselves in here." proposed the guard named Josh.

"How can we be sure that they won't come here?" asked Marie with a sceptical tone.

"What can Joker want from some doctors?"

"Okey, but what about the others?"that question caused Josh to hang his head and stare at the floor for a moment. "Wait, can you hear that?" asked Marie and started to look around the room for the source of the low hissing sound that just reached her ear.

"Hear what?" asked a voice, but surely, it wasn't Josh's. Tha man had a nice smooth voice and whatever she just heard was raspy and ended with a growl. She whipped her head around to look at her coworker. He was no longer looking at the floor, instead he was staring at her with... yellow eyes. But the color wasn't the only odd thing about them, the pupils weren't oval, they were like the ones reptiles had. She stared at him wide eyed. No, it wasn't possible, she was definitely imagining things. However, the longer she looked the greener his skin... scales became.

"What's wrong?" came his voice again and this time she was turned to him so she could all the razor sharp teeth in his, once human, mouth. Suddenly, the teeth started growing out on his lips and along with them grew his whole body. In seconds his uniform was torn from all the muscles that appeared. Marie thought that what she felt just a few minutes ago was fear, she was just proven wrong. She could barely breathe bacause she was choking with sobs, her knees were shaking and she was sure that they would give out any second now and if it weren't for the fact that she had years of experience in dealing with stressful situations she would probably wet herslef.

Once the transformation was complete, she stared at the Killer Croc. He looked around and sniffed the air. He kept doing that until an echo of a maniacal laughter could be heard, then he looked at her and if it weren't for the mess that his face was, he would be surely grinning.

"I caught your scent, little lamb."he rasped and threw himself at her.

The blaring sound of alarm startled Marie who was on the verge of falling asleep on her chair in front of the cameras controlling corridors in Arkham Asylum. She quickly sat upright and started scanning the screens in search of something out of ordinary. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder and looked behind to see her new supervisor, Aaron Cash, lean over her chair and use his other hand to point to the camera numer seven. She stared at it for a few seconds before she realized what was wrong with the image. The specifically reinforced door leading to the sewer cell of the Killer Croc were torn out of their hinges. She jumped up from her chair and ran over to Cash who was in the middle of preparing himself for work.

"You're coming with me, I can't leave you alone. You're not allowed to have any sharp ammo yet, so you'll have to do with your stun gun. Take my radio and let everyone know what's goin' on." he told her quickly and threw her his radio. "And listen to me Walker, no matter what, stay behind me and, if anything happens, just run." he told her the last sentence as they were running through the halls of the asylum.

Marie, who was keeping up with him easily, glanced at him nervously. It really couldn't be that bad. Everyone were warning her about this job, but throughout the last two weeks she didn't have any reason to complain. Sure, the job wasn't a walk in a park, but to be honset she welcomed a bit of excitement in her life. Before that she spent her days running self-defense courses and she really had enough of, usually, having to explain the same thing over and over again to a group of rich, overweight women. The only good thing that came from that work was that she met there Carol, whose boyfriend turned out to work in Arkham and helped her get the job. Now her life got more interesting, the higher salary didn't hurt either.

They ran all the way to the Intensive Treatment building. There they were joined by a group of armed guards who were coming up with a plan of attack. Normally they would be able to track Croc's movements thanks to the tracking device in his electric collar, but during his escape he managed to crash it. That meant having to find him the old-fashioned way. They split up in groups, Marie was in group with Cash, and before they entered the building she was once more reminded to always stay in the middle, among others, and not to engage. Each group went on its own way, as they wanted to cover as much area as they could. They were sneaking through the building and taking their time, they didn't want to alert him with their footsteps.

It happened just as one of the other groups reported that they completed their route and didn't find anything. Marie's group was nearing a turn in the corridor. Three guys in front were just about to check if no surprise awaited them behind it when a massive bulk of muscles kept together by green scales jumped out from there and took them out in one move. The girl stared wide eyed. Those guys were tall and muscular and that thing threw them in the wall with enough force to take them all out. For a moment she just stood there paralyzed and stared into the beast's eyes.

"WALKER!" Aaron's voice sprang her back to life.

Her supervisor was moving towards her slowly, as if he didn't want to alert Croc, but he was too focused on her to notice. Maybe he wouldn't move at all if she didn't make a small step backwards, then he lunged in her let out a small shriek and used her stun gun on him, but he didn't even seem to notice, his skin was thick and a gun designed to stun a normal human didn't affect him. To be honsest he didn't seem to notice being shot at by Cash, he just ran after Marie, who was now trying to reach the other guard. She almost made it, but suddenly felt a strong grip around her waist. She tried to get away, but that only caused him to smash her lightly into the wall, hold her tighter and thrust his claws into her flesh to hold her more securely. She cried out in agony. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. Her vision started blearing and she was slowly losing awareness as he strode confidently towards Cash and gave him the same treatment as the rest of her team got.

"They think a little girl like you could take me down?" now he held her in front of his face, so when he growled to her she could smell how badly his breath stank and see blood and little bits of meat that were stuck between his teeth. "You're just a lamb sent to slaughter."

That was the end. She was sure of it. She could see her death slowly approaching in the form of rows of teeth she would be crushed by.

An enraged growl was heard before she fell on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a glimpse of Cash who threw himself at Croc. She tried to crawl away, but didn't find any strenght. She simply lied there and listened to the noise that surrounded her. First she heard a scream full of pain, then footseps and shots. Then the hall was filled in too many noises to catch anything specific. She just lied there and looked a bit to the side. There was a body there. It must've been Cash, she recognised the dark curls on his head, but in place where he used to have his hand there was nothing. All left was a stump and a small puddle of blood. Somewhere in the back of her mind there was a memory of a first aid needed to stop the bleeding. But as she tried to move towards him she suddenly felt increadibly sleepy. And the lights started going out too. It would be impossible not to fall asleep. She closed her eyes and heard echo of somebody shouting her name.

"Marie, wake up! Marie!"

Her eyes snapped open and the first thing she saw weree the crystal blue eyes of Jonathan Crane. At that moment they seemed so familiar, safe and not Croc-like that she couldn't stop herself and threw herslef at him, hooking her arms around his neck and bringing their torsos close together. At first he seemed stunned by her behaviour, but after a moment he accepted this unexpected display of affection and used one of his arms to circle her waist and the other to stroke her hair. She used that moment of peace to collect her thoughts. 'What the hell was that?' she threw away all those memories long ago and avoided anything that could remind her of it, why would she suddenly...

"You gassed me!" she exclaimed as she shoved him awayand tried to stand up, but failed. It was definitely his toxin, horrible halucinations, nightmares and now after waking up she was too weak to stand up on her own.

"In my defense, I had no idea that you would be here. You don't usually work nights." he replied calmy as he picked up his mask that fell on the floor when he was pushed away. "Now get up, we're going to the mansion."

"To be honest that doesn't make me feel much better, and what do you mean by 'we'?" she asked confused, she was shaking and tried to figure out where she was. Somewhere along the way she moved out of the room.

"By 'we' I mean you and I." he replied, still in that calm tone of his that didn't show anything of what he was feeling.

"Why would I go anywhere with you?" she asked and looked into the room where she saw four familiar bodies. John Chary looked like he had scratched his eyes out, both doctors were curled up in balls as if they were trying to hide from something and Josh... had multiple gunsgot wounds.

No.

She quickly checked the magazine in her handgun. When she started the shift it was full. Now it was empty.

No, no, no...

It was impossible. She would never...

She felt tears fill her eyes. She sat there, sprawled on the floor, and stared at her shaking hands. It was impossible, she didn't remember using her gun, she blacked out when the halucination of Croc attacked her and she was sure that was the moment she lost conciousness. She looked up at the man in front of her. He glanced at her, her gun, and then the corpse inside and a look of recognition crossed his face. He leaned down and picked her up, bridal style.

"You're probabely in shock. First you got my toxin and, to be honest, I'm surprised you survived at all, then this. Just focus on your breathing and listen to me." he entered the elevator and pressed a must've been stonger than he looked like if he could carry her around like that, effortlessly. "The island is a warzone and you won't survive the night on your own. I'll make sure Joker's men don't get to you and you'll help me out when I'll need it. So now, unless you've got any better idea, we're doing to the mansion. We've got a party to crash."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Yay I'm back :D It took me longer than I expected and I apologize for that, but here we have another installment of our brave herione's adventures. Writing Scarecrow trying to screw with her psyche was harder than I thought it would be, so it took a few rewrites and I'm still not happy with the outcome :( Wel, I hope it'll go better in the next chapter, which will take definitely less time to update ;P**

"It's on you." her voice could barely be qualified as a whisper. "And I can walk on my own."

"What are you talking about?" he asked and, suprisingly gently, put her on the ground. She leaned on the wall with dazed eyes, but after a moment she stood straight and took a small step in direction of the main door.

"He's dead because of you." she replied with a small tremor in her voice. Oh, so it was about that guard she had shot.

"You're the one who pulled the trigger." he was about to open the door of the building when he saw her expression, she looked like she was about to cry, but at the same time there was a fire in her eyes, so much anger.

"I would never have done it if it wasn't for YOUR toxin!" she slipped between the door and him as is she was afraid that he would try to escape her judgement. There wasn't really a reason to do that, he never cared for what other people thought of him, but he saw an opportunity in their current situation and he wouldn't be himself if he didn't use it. His arms shot out and he had her trapped against the door. He started to caress her skin and tucked a strand of hair that escaped from her braid behind her ear. He did all of that with the syringe that was on his thumb. She tried to move away, but he blocked her with his other arm. There it was. The fear finally appeared in her eyes and she was shivering. His mask concealed the smirk that surfaced on his face as he leaned in and started to whisper softly.

"Oh, but are you sure? That's just one of many things I love about fear, it makes people revert to their most basic instincts. I never told you to shoot anyone, I never even suggested it. All of that was your doing. Of course you may argue that you didn't know who he was. You saw Jones, didn't you?" he straightened himself and looked at her face, the way she quickly averted her gaze was enough of an aswer for him. "Sure you did. He may noy look really human, but he's just a person unlucky enough to be born with a form of Atavism and you know it, and yet you would've killed him there. Now you think 'I was just trying to save my life', but you know what would have been the best way to stay safe? Quit working here. But, even after all you've been through, you're still here, and why? For money." He disconnected his left hand from the wooden surface and wiped the tears that were now flowing freely down her face, the anger appeared once again, replacing the fear. "You all think so highly of yourslef, saying that you're protecting others from us, but in reality you all have some private gain in it. You're no better than us, you just stand on the side of majority, so you're all excused. What you have in life is nothing. Money? They come and go. I know you don't have any family. And your friends? I wonder what would they think if they saw us right now." he was sure that the camera in the corner was capturing the way their bodies were pressed together and his hand caressing her face. "They would think you're one of us and then you would lose everything..."

Marie slapped the Scarecrow. She slapped him. Jonathan Crane, the guy who had no problem with tormenting random, innocent people. Even more, he enjoyed it. She hit him.

The silence that filled the hall after that froze the blood in her vains. She didn't even register the pain in her hand from hitting his gas mask. The only thing she could focus on was the way he slowly turned his head back straight so he was looking at her again. 'He's SO going to kill me now. Screw my usefulness, he's going to kill me slowly and painfully. He's a fucking Rogue, what was I thinking?' the thoughts were racing in her mind as he slowly peeled the mask off of his face. A small trail of blood appeared in the place the gas mask cut his mouth. He took a deep, Marie guessed that a calming, breath and opened his mouth to speak again. He was interupted by a sound of footsteps coming from the yard.

Marie was quickly pulled into a skinny chest and felt the cold, metal tips of syringes hover just above the skin on her neck. That when a group of Joker's thugs burst in. Each one of them was holding a gun.

"Boss sent us to escort you, Scarecrow"

'What a night.' Marie mused as she sat cross-legged next to one of the joker's thugs who was at the moment... decorating?... the enterance to Visitor Center. She was waiting for Scarecrow to finish talking with the clown, then they were supposed to go to the masion.

"Um, lady, what's the deal with you and the Scarfreak?" came a gruff voice of the painter.

"I... don't really know." she aswered lamely and thought about the scene that probably confused the guy. She never thought that such a skinny man could be so intimitading, but when she heard the way Jonathan threatened Joker's men about how painful and terrifying their deaths would be if they dared to touch them,she changed her mind. "I guess we have a deal. I'll take care of any guards around and he'll take care of you guys." the only aswer she got was a grunt.

The fact that he protected her could mean that he wasn't so angry about that slap. That would be a relief. Unless, he didn't want others to hurt her because he wanted to have the pleasure for himself. She didn't even want to think about what else the night will bring. It was bad enough already.

The soung of slamming door startled her so much that she jumped upright and grabbed a pipe that she collected earlier for protection. She looked towards the source of the sound and saw a skinny figure surrounded by a group of muscled men marching in her direction. When he got close enough he grabbed her arm and started to drag her in direction of the mansion.

"Once we get to the mansion we'll prepare for the bat and you'll go and hide somewhere."

He sounded angry, not only that, the grip on her arm was amost painful. She reached for his hand and gently tried to pry his fingers open. He got the message and loosened his grip, but still didn't let go of her completely. His behaviour puzzled her, but she didn't think that questioning him would be a good idea, especially when he seemed so angry, so she just nodded and allowed him to lead her.

They reached their destination shortly and as soon as they were in the main hall he barked at the men to keep going and dragged her to a desk surrounded by scattered papers. He pushed her onto it and leaned over her menacingly.

"You will now get under the desk and stay there until I tell you otherwise. No matter what you hear, or who you see, even if you'll end up stuck in here for the rest of the night."

"But why?" what was the point of dragging her around the island if he was going to leave her there?

"Understood?" he asked sharply, leaning over her even more.

She quickly started nodding. He really seemed angry, no reason to make it even worse.

The stayed like that for a moment and then he stepped away and gestured towards the floor. Marie sighed resigned and sterted crowling under the desk. 'So much for my dignity' she thought bitterly and watched as Scarecrow followed Joker's men. She just hoped it wouldn't take long.

It didn't take long. Actually, she didn't even manage to get even semi-comfortable in her hiding spot before she heard the sounds of a fight. It was getting louder and louder. Whoever was fighting with the gang was getting closer and she didn't like it. The pipe she carried around was a reassurance, but in the end it probably wouldn't be enough.

She kept her eyes on the door and held her makeshift weapon tighter. She could hear everything clearly now, the grunts of people getting hit and the characteristic laughter of Scarecrow. The must've been behind that door if she heard it all so well. Any minute now they would burst into the hall.

Aaand... there they were.

At least some of them. They were fewer in number, but now that she knew who they were fighting with Marie wasn't surprised. Freaking Batman. He was taking them out so effortlessly. It was a matter of seconds before he got rid of all of them. Through all of that he was accompanied by Scarecrow's remarks. The latter was calmly strolling around the fight watching his enemy as if he wasn't aware that he's in for a major beating.

'Wait a minute...' Marie peaked out from under the desk. Batman was acting strange. He took out the thugs and all left to do was taking care of their leader, but instead he was looking around frantically and his gaze was stopping on air, as if he was seeing things that weren't really there.

Suddenly he dodged right and used one of his gadgets to get on the balcony above them. Then he concealed himself in the shadows and Marie had no idea where he went. She couldn't look out for him without getting out from her hiding spot so she settled for watching Scarecrow. He didn't look so calm now, that his enemy was out of sight. He was spinning around, trying to pinpoint the location of the Bat. The rest was a matter of seconds.

She barely registered the shadow that appeared from above and tackled her... companion. She didn't have time to do so as it was gone as quickly as it appeared. She only saw a black smudge flying towards the tower.

She kept hiding. He did tell her to do so. So what if he was currently lying down of the floor, curled up in a ball. Sure that hit must've hurt, but he's been through worse. Plus, she didn't really feel like coming to HIS rescue. He should be grateful that she didn't finish him while he was vunerable.

A serie of groans could be heard as the criminal collected himself from the floor. He slowly approached her desk and slumped back on the floor, he was clutching his stomach and breathing heavily. He tore his mask off to have better access to the air and, to Marie's amusment, it caused his hair to be in complete mess, all the strands were sticking in different directions.

They stayed like that, in a awkward silence, for a moment. Then, after a few deeper breaths, he collected himself, put the mask back on, stood up and helped her get out from under the desk.

"Come on, back to the Penitentiary. It's time to give him all we've got."

Marie chose to ignore just how intense his voice sounded when he said that. Maybe that would turn out to be a good way of keeping her life, and sanity.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:I'm alive! I'm really sorry it took me so long to update, but I started the final year of school and my teachers really want me to realize that XD I never really had the time to sit down and write the whole thing, so I just wrote it piece by piece, I just hope you won't feel any shifts in pace while reading. Thank you for all of reviews, I didn't expect that this story would well received at all, so each review is a great surprise for me. Enjoy :D**

"So, where are we going to this time?"

They were after a second visit to the Joker. It ended the same way as the previous one, with Jonathan storming out visibly angry, grabing her by her wrist and dragging her away. But this time they weren't accompanied by any men. He didn't answer any of her questions about what happened, but from what she heard him mutter angrily under his breath, Joker seemed to have dared to undermine Scarecrow's ability to get Batman. Yet, he still agreed to send some of his men for help later on. Marie guessed that he considered Scarecrow a good distraction, otherwise he wouldn't let him run loose around the island or borrow his muscle.

"Intensive Treatment building. The clown said that the bat should show up there later on. We'll prepare something for him in the meantime."

Compared to what she's seen before, the island was pretty empty. There weere still some thugs running around, byt there was also a large number of them lying on the ground unconscious.

It seemed like Batman was doing a pretty solid work taking back the asylum grounds.

"And where exactly are we going?" she asked as they were marching through the labyrinth of corridors in the building. She was glad she had enough energy to keep up with him. She was only 5'4'', so keeping up with a guy who was 6' wasn't so easy. His legs were too damn long.

"You'll see'"

"That's cozy." she remarked while looking around the small cave. "You should call it the Scarecave." then she laughed out loud at the murderous look he gave her.

The place wasn't really big, but she guessed it didn't really have to be. The place was covered with hay, some canisters, blueprints and pictures (mostly of Batman). There was also a computer lying on a crate. She approached it and saw that it was streaming footage from security cameras. She started rewinding through the footage, she did that until she noticed a characteristic costume. She paused and looked at the Batman escorting Joker through the hallway. She turned around to her companion/abductor.

"How did you get all that stuff?"

"You'd be surprised by how easy it is to bribe some of your colleages." He gave her a off-hand remark and gestured for her to come closer. "See this canisters? Hand them to me and I'll carry them out of here, once we're done you'll come with me and help with setting everything up fot the bat. And be careful with them, you really don't want any leak."

"At this point I fell you should start paying me for my services." she replied jokingly, but gently picked up two cannisters and walked over to the vent.

"Why? Are you looking for new job?"

"Oh no. I'm quite fine with my current one."

"Oh, but are you sure. I can promise you that in my business you'd get a better pay and you wouldn't have to spend most of your time getting drooled on by anyone." he suggested as he slid into the vent and held out his hands to grab the cannisters.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure." Marie replied with a nervous laugh. She really wasn't sure how to feel about such a proposition.

"Well. If you ever change your mind remember that my offer is still on the table." with that he disappeared in the shadows.

They did a few more rounds of this carrying out and the room was empty. When the last cannister went into vent she followed after. Some of Joker's men were already waiting for them by the elevator shaft, so they helped them get out of the vent. Each of them took a cannister or two and they crammed into the elevator and went up. She, Scarecrow and a group on inmates under Joker's banners were squished into one, tiny room. Marie would later refer to this moment as the most awkward elevator ride of her life.

She breathed in relief when they reached their floor. Then Scarecrow carefully instructed them on how to set up all the equipment. They had to carefully place it in a way that it wouldn't be noticeable as soon as somebody walked in. Then they all went to hide in other room while Crane stayed and opened the valves.

Marie was leaning against the wall, playing with a lead pipe in her hand (a new one, she left the previous one in the mansion), when the door slid open and they were joined by Jonathan.

"Everything is ready. Now we wait for the radio signal and as soon as Batman enters and gets weakened by my toxin we ambush him." Scarecrow explained and in response got a few nods and confirming grunts from the thugs.

'Okey-dokey,' thought Marie as she started to look around for a hiding spot 'now, the big bad guys are aboud to fight, so I'll just sit that one out.' An open vent called to her from the other side of the room, but the moment she took a single step towards it a skinny hand shot out and held her in place. She looked behind her to see a rogue silently staring down at her. His mask hid his expression, but this quiet stare caused her to get goosebumps on her nape. They stood like that for a moment before they were interrupted by the sound of gunshots.

"He's getting closer, get ready!" shouted one of the henchmen.

Marie was then grabbed by her jacket and dragged towards the door. They all stood there, just outside of the movement sensor range, and listened to the sounds outside the door. Jonathan clutched the short-wave radio in his hand and they waited for the signal. They all tensed up when the sounds of fight stopped and not long after that they heard a curt voice on the radio saying they can go in. The whole group quickly got into the corridor, but before she could move further in she was pulled back. She and Scarecrow stood at the side and watched os the events unfolded.

From what she heard, and experienced, fear toxin copletely affected person's mind. It made people lose all contact with reality and took their world over. It all felt so real that it was almost impossible to snap out of it. However, what she was seeing at that moment seemed to contradict all of that. The bat was swinging left and right, taking out any thugs that were within his reach. He didn't have the slightest problem with them, she wasn't even sure if any of them landed a hit on him. Sure, he didn't act completely normal, he was once again watching thin air as if there was something only he could see, but even that didn't influenced his efficiency.

The moment the last henchman fell Marie realised how the last time Batman was around ended. The moment that thought crossed her mind the bat moved towards them. In this short moment she quickly evaluated her situation. Sure she was an official Arkham employee, however, Batman wasn't 100% keeping up with reality, so he could simply not even notice her guard uniform. Also, even if he did, she as just standing there, next to Scarecrow, she had a heavy pipe in her hand and she didn't even attempt to use it on infamous inmate. Those facts probaby didn't put her in the best light. And so, the decision was made.

The bat was just in front of them when she raised the pipe and took a swing. The moment the metal connected with bat's jaw, she heard a sickening crunch. She wasn't sure who was more confused, the bat, the Scarecrow or herself. However the confusion didn't last very long as Batman retaliated almost immediately. She barely had time to raise her arm in defense before he struck, but even that line of defense didn't really make much difference. The blow that landed on her cheek threw her of her feet and she landed ungracefully on her backside, with her hand pressed to the side of her face that she was rapidly loosing feeling of. But the worst was yet to come. She was so preoccupied with her face that she didn't even register the heavy boot that was directed at her leg, until she felt an unimaginable pain in her calf. She looked up just in time to see the bat taking yet another swing at her and then stopping when five needles pierced through his suit and a characteristic yellow liquid was injected into his veins.

"I think you need a little more! Tell me, what demons do you have left to beat? Shall we see?"

All of her attention was focused on the pain radiating from her leg, so Jonathan's voice sounded strangely distant. She barely registered being picked up. The only thing she noticed was the fact that at some point she could swear that they passed a few Banes, but at that moment it didn't seem so impossible, so she didn't even give it a second thought.

She was gently laid down on the ground and leaned against the wall. She looked forward and saw that she was now separated from the fight by iron bars, which gave her a small sense of relief. The pain was escalating and declining in the rhythm of her heartbeat, but she regained enough contact with her surroundings to see that Batman was finishing another wave of oppenents. 'What the hell is he?' she thought nervously and rolled fully onto the ground only to start crowling towards the door. She was moving carefully so that her leg wouldn't get too shaken up. An exceptionally loud crunch caught her attention and made her look back. There were only 2 people left standing or, to be precise, one was standing and the other one was hanging an inch above the floor, as he was being held by the bat.

"How are you doing this? You've ingested enough toxins to drive 10 men insane. What are you?" hissed out Scarecrow as he started to blindly stab the arm that was holding him. Only after a few attacks did he manage to get free.

When that happened he quickly jumped away from his enemy and moved towards the door. He was about to walk through when he seemed to remember about Marie. He glanced back and approached her. Then he leaned down to pick her up from the floor. The sudden movement made her wince, but when hung down from his shoulder the pain stabilized. His hand went to her thighs to secure her and he marched on to his destination.

"Why fight it, Batman? You're as crazy as the rest of us. You need us as much as we need you. And to prove it, I'll flood the catacombs with enough Fear Gas to break the minds of everyone in Gotham for a hundred years." his statement was intertwined with sinister laughter.

From her point of view Marie didn't see a lot, but she recognised the sound of opening and closing elevetor door, then she felt the distinctive lurch in the stomach, telling her that they were going down. When they reached their floor and Scarecrow stepped out of the elevator Marie raised her torso and looked around. They passed a group of inmates who didn't even give them a second glance, apparently a Master of Fear walking around with a girl thrown over his shoulder wasn't anything out of ordinary for them. A second look at her surrounding made her realize where they were, the hook with a giant piece meat was a dead giveaway.

"Hold on a minute, where are we going?" she asked with vioce filled with panic. She tried to slid off of him, but he responded by securing his grip on her.

"I've waited too long for such occasion to let it be ruined by anyone. Now stay quiet, I'll keep an eye on you."

In that moment she remembered what he said to Batmna, about flooding the catacombs with his frear toxin. He wanted to go to the sewers? The place where they kept Kiler Croc? And then use his fear toxin? Do something that would surely piss off the monster? Was he fucking crazy?! The girl went into a full panic mode and began to trash around just as he was about to open the heavy door to the corridor leading to the sewers.

"No! Stop! There's no way in hell I'm going there, just leave me here!" he dealt with her fit by dropping her an the floor without any warning. The pain in her leg made her fall forward and latch on to him not to hit the floor. She quickly leaned back against the wall and started to slowly egde away from him.

"Leave you here? You're my leverage, I'm not just going to go against Batman without any back-up plan." he replied casually and pushed the door. He stopped for a brief moment, as if he was considering something and then turned to her. "We can do it the easy way, or the hard way. I won't have any trouble overpowering you at your current state, but if you come with me without making any more fuss, I promise I'll make sure you come out of it unscathed. Or maybe you'd rather I left you here with Joker's men? There's really no way of ensuring that they'll do what I said once I'm gone from the field of view."

"I really don't wanna..." whined Marie, 'But it's not like I have any better option, not with Batmna tripping upstairs.' she thought bitterly and grabbed the hand he extended to her. He pulled her towards him and, before she could stumble, grabbed her aound the waist and, once again, hoisted her over his shoulder. 'Or maybe it's even better the bat's not here. Who knows what he would do to me this time. Then again, he's probably already on his way down to stop Crane. I just hope he won't break any bone of mine this time.' at this point it felt as if her shoe was a few sizes too small and the only way she could imagine getting it off was to cut it open. She moved her hand to her cheek, which also felt numb, and when she put it in front of her eyes she saw that her fingers were covered in blood. 'Great, I even have a busted cheek'.

The were moving in a quick pace, so she didn't even have enough time to brace herself fo what was coming before they entered the sewers. The first thing that hit her was the smell. Of course, it was expected, but still unpleasant. She was carried for a little bit more and then gently put on the ground, next to a wall so she could lean against it. She was standing near the edge of the water and it didn't do anything to soothe her nerves. She looked at Scarecrow with fear apparent in her eyes. She wondered if he really needed her as a hostage or maybe just enjoyed seeing how terrified she was.

Her musings were interupted by the sound of heavy footsteps and slamming doors. Batman was coming. Jonathan must've come to the same conclusion because he pulled her towards him, so that her back collieded with hhis chest. He used his one hand to keep her secure, while the other, the gloved one, held a bag with toxin while pointing needles in her face in a threatening manner. The moment they settled for this position the vigilante ran into the chamber they were in. At first he only seemed to notice some plant growing nearby, so Scarecrow decided to draw bat's attention.

"Too late, Batman! This goes into the water and the cave will fill with your deepest, darkest nightmares. You will never reach your precious Venom roots. And you try to get one step closer and the girl gets it! I've prepared a nice, lethal dose just for you, but I'm sure you won't mind sharing." while saying that he was slowly moving towards the water and caressing her cheek with the needles to emphasize his threats.

"Don't do it, Crane!" the moment Batman's shout sounded, all hell broke loose.

The first thing she heard was a lound splash, then a worryingly familiar growl. She quickly glanced back and felt like her heart stopped, when she saw Croc jump in her direction. He reached out, but didn't get her. The moment the large, scale covered hand grabbed Jonathan she felt the arm holding her loosen up and then push her away. Her leg couldn't take the sudden sensation and she collapsed on the floor. She looked back only to see something small and fast hit Croc in his electric collar just as he was raising Scarecrow over his head. The impact caused an electric shock and with a final growl, Croc dessappeared underneath the water. Along with Jonathan.

* * *

"Are you alright?" a gruff voice snapped her out from her daze. The face covered by a bat mask was blurred due to the tears that were flowing down her face. She quickly wiped her eyes and nodded. "Can you get out of here on your own?"

"Yeah... I think so." her voice was shaking, just like her whole figure.

"Then hurry up before he comes back." with that Batman run off deep into the sewer system.

Marie looked around and tried to come to her senses. She couldn't really process all that happened that night, she just knew that it was the second worst shift of he life. But the bat was right, she had to get out. She crowled towards the wall so that she would have something to lean against as she walked out. She was about to stand up when her leg nudged something in the floor. Still nervous, she jumped away only to realize that it was just the bag with the toxin.

Wait a minute...

She loked around once more and sat still for a moment just listening or any ounds of footsteps. The bat was away, she was alone. No one would notice, right?

 **AN: And we've reached the end of the first game. I started writing it with the intention of telling a story that would continue throughout the entire trilogy. I don't know if I'll manage that, but I will write something more for sure ;) I guess I'll just see for how long I can keep you interested :P Let me know if you liked it or, if you didn't, what's wrong. Hopefully I'll manage to update sooner this time ;D**


	6. Chapter 6

**It took me forever, I know. It's just, you could say that life's been giving me ALL the lemons lately. I went through 3 surgeries in a row (nothing life-threatening, but healing was painfull as hell) and still had to keep up with preparing for all the exams that are approaching faster than I expected. I should get back on track from now on, but all that's been happening lately left just tired. Anyway, let me know what you think. Enjoy :D**

"We're sorry to bother you so soon after the incident, but there are some urgent matters to be settled." contrary to his words, the police commissioner looked tired rather than sympathetic. There were dark shadows under his eyes and he had coffee stains on his shirt. Though, it wasn't excatly surprising that he would be tired after the whole Arkham Asylum ordeal.

"It's no problem Commissioner. I'm happy to help." Marie winced at the hoarse sound of her voice. Apparenly spending half of a night passed out, without her jacket, in the yard of the asylum was a perfect way of catching a cold. As if she hadn't gone through enough to worry about her health.

"I've spoken to your doctor, said that you were beaten up pretty badly. Shattered shin, fractured cheek bone, fear toxin detected in your bloodstream, slight concussion. I want to make sure that you'll let me know if you don't feel up to it."

"I'll let you know right away." she assured him and fixed her pillow so she could stay in more upright position.

"Unfortunately all the records from the night of the breakout have been deleted and there are still some things we need to work out." said the older man and pulled a chair towards her bed to sit closer. "Our main concern are, of course, the whereabouts of Scarecrow."

"Croc's belly I'd say." she replied not bothering to hide her disgust. She was pretty sure that commissioner was aware of her, rather unpleasant, past with that particural inmate.

"Well, we can't be sure of that. I don't like taking any risk with those people. Could you recount the events of that night?" a small notepad appeared in his hands along with a pen and he looked at her expectantly.

"Well, I guess it all started 'bout the time I took one of the inmates to Medical Facility. We were inside when we saw Joker's broadcast, then we were hit by the fear toxin. I don't really know what happened then, but the next thing I remember is being dragged around the island by Crane. He... he started threatening me. Said that he would make me relive my worst nightmares,over and over again, if I didn't go with him. Then he started dragging me around the island, said I would be his bargaining card in case we came across any othe guards. There were times he'd go and met up with the Joker, and he'd leave me with one of the henchmen so that I wouldn't escape. The last time he left me alone one guy got a bit too enthusiastic about making sure I won't get away and did this to me." She nodded in direction of her leg secured in a cast. "He set up all those traps for Batman and each time got his ass kicked. When he was all out of henchmen he took me down to the sewers, where we were followed by Batman, and started threatening that he'll poison me and the entire city. We were standing next to the water. He was practically begging Croc to get him... "

"And then?" commissioner prompted her to carry on.

"Batman run off to do his thing and I was left on my own. I guess... I wasn't really thinking straight. Instead of hiding somewhere safe, I went back to the surface and I must've blacked out there. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital." she finished by gesturing towards her surroundings.

"Well, that goes along with what Batman said." mused the man and stared out of the window.

"Wait. If you knew what happned, why come to me?" she asked puzzled.

"We want to have a full picture. Besides, what really matters right now is wheter you know any possible locations Scarecrow might have gone to, if he managed to survive the night."

"Why would I know that?" now she was amused, what was he getting at?

"One of your coworkers came through to me and said he had a suspicion that you might know more than you let on." seeing her shocked expression he continued. "That person claims that your relationship with Jonathan Crane went beyond professional?"

Silence fell in the room as commissioner gave her a long and perceptive look. Marie focused all her effort into looking as surprised as she could. 'Donnie is soooo dead' she thought. Was that asshole was obsessed with her and Scarecrow? If she got into trouble because of him, she would rise hell.

"Listen... Commissioner... I've heard such accusations before, and honestly, I'm getting sick of them. As you probably can imagine, the staff of the asylum and its inmates have never been on exaclty good terms. I tried to be different. I tried to see their human side. I tried to do this with each one of them, it just happened that I got assigned to Crane's corridor the most often. Is being humanitarian a crime now?" the man opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Oh, don't worry, I won't make the same mistake, not after what happened to me that night."

She huffed and looked away from him, but made sure he saw enough of her face to notice the tears that were slowly rolling down her cheeks. She got teary eyed out of nervousness, but decided to go with it and out on a bit of a show. If what the rumours said was correct, he should let it go after that.

"I'm sorry, but we have to check everything." out of the corner of her eye she saw him raise, but instead of going to the door he approached her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. At that she looked up at him surprised. "What you did was good. We have to show them that we are better than they are. But you need to be careful at the same time, you never know what will get attention of one of them." After that he wished her a speedy recovery and left her alone.

The girl took a few deep, calming breaths. She was safe. Thankfully Batman didn't seem to remember that she had hit him. And they didn't notice the missing fear toxin. She still wasn't sure why she took some of it, but what's done is done and now she'll have to somehow get it from work. Her hiding spot is pitiful so she'll have to take care of it quickly.

"Oh my god, are you allright?! What happened?! What did they do to you? Oh, my poor Marie..."

"Wow, Carol. I've missed you too... but if you could just... loosen the grip a bit..." she gasped out as she glance over her friend's curly her at Donnie, who was standing by the door,in a safe distance.

"Oh, I'm so sorry..." her best friend sat up straight and started to gently pet her hair. "I was so worried when I heard what happened. And they said that you are lucky to be alive. Only a few of guards who were on duty that night survived. And to think that Donnie could've been there... Anyway, how are you holding up?"

"Could've been worse I guess..." Marie's voice trailed off as she glanced at Donnie who had yet to speak out. "Actaully, I've been dying for some chocolate. I've been thinkin' that you could get some and then we'd catch up." Carol's eyes lit up at the suggestion and she almost ran out of the room in search of chocolate.

"Okey, I know you're probably angry..."

"Probably?! Now that's an understatement, Donald. Do you have any idea how much trouble I could've gotten into just because you're paranoid?! Are you really so obsessed with the idea of me being in love with Crane that you overlooked the fact that he freaking kidnapped me? How long were you thinking about what you were about to do, before you came running to Gordon? Good thing that the guy seems to own a brain, unlike some, and realized that it was bullshit!"

"I guess I didn't think it through."

"Nice guess, Sherlock."

"Listen, I don't want to ruin your teary reunion with Carol. I just came by to give you this." he replied curtly and threw something small into her lap.

"What's that supposed to be?" she asked and picked up an envelope.

"After all that mess they're closing the asylum. Not right away, but it'll be closed down by the time you get better, so Sharp asked me to give you that. It pretty much says what I've just told you, plus there's some info about the hazard pay and stuff like that. Oh, almost forgot, I emptied your locker, so that you won't have to go back to the island."

"You did what?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Emptied your locker?"

"Where's all my stuff?"

"In your apartment, Carol borrowed me her key. Don't worry I gave it back to her... is everything allright? You turned a bit pale."

"Oh yeah, everything's just peachy."

"Are you sure you'll manage on your won? It wouldn't be a problem if you just stayed at our place. I could even get Donnie to stay over at his friend's for a while." Carol's voice was full of hope when she helped her friend open the door of her apartment.

"That's sweet of you, but I really miss my home. Besides it's not like I'm that impaired, I'd even say I'm used to the crutches at this point." Marie assured and in turn received two sloppy kisses on her cheeks.

"If you need ANYTHING just let me know. I'll come as soon as I can."

"Sure thing, mom." laughed Marie and hugged the other woman.

"See you later. And call me if anything happens." replied Carol and ran off, she was already late for work.

It's been a while since anyone has been in the apartment, so everything was covered by a layer of dust. 'Cleaning is gonna be a bitch' thought Marie and hobbled through the hall to the living room, there she collapsed on the sofa as soon as she reached it. Everything was just as she left it besides a cardboard box with the word 'asylum' scribbled on the side. That box was the only dust free thing around. It was actually pretty weird, it should've collected some dust since the time Donnie left it there. Marie didn;t really ponder on that, she was more focused on what she'd find inside. The moment of truth. Her hand were trembling slightly as she opened it and glanced inside. Loads of unfinished paperwork (the one good thing about not having a job was that she didn't have to worry about that anymore), a spare set of underwear and a t-shirt (cause you never know), a few emergency energy bars and finally, a cake box from the breakout's week when one of the oldest guards was retiring and she baked it for the occasion. She glanced inside and felt a wave of relief when she saw the jacket from her uniform stuffed into it. She gently took it out and glance itno the pockets. There it was, the powder she's spend so much time worrying about. She couldn't believe she actually managed to get it out of the asylum. She was in a state of shock and she just put some of it into her pocket. She didn't have a plan at the time (not that she had one at the moment), she just went and his it in the first place that came to her mind, which was her locker. She passed out a moment later, just as she was in the middle of getting away from there (it madw total sense at the time).

Well, she did it. That's what really mattered. Now came the time to worry about a better place to keep it than a pocket. She smiled to herself 'Well, that went better than I expected'. She took one crutch and picked up the box to throw it out when she realised that there was something else inside. She didn't remember keeping anything else at work, so she put the box back on the table and reached into it. Inside was a cloth bag that she could swear she saw for the first time in her life. She opened it warily and reached inside. The moment her hand reappeared she dropped the offending object on the table and did an awkward onelegged jump back on the sofa. There, on her table, lied a mask. Crudely stitched together cloth mask with two filters sticking out of it. The mask she last saw on its owner as he was being dragged down underwater.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't know what I'm writing...**

"Marie! I-I-I need you your heeeelp..." Carol's sobs sent her into full alert. She put her friend on speaker, grabbed her crutch and went to her wardrobe to find some clean pants.

"What's wrong? And where are you?" she asked concerned.

"I'll be in m-m-my apartment in a minute... I-I went f-for a walk... and... some bastards were trying to drown a kitten..." Marie could barely hear the other woman through her sobs, but she ended up nodding as if they could see each other.

"Do you need me to get you anything? Cat food or something like that?"

"I don't k-know... it's really tiny... I'm not sure if s-some milk wouldn't be better."

"Well, I'll figure something out. See you in a few."

In the end, Marie bought some regular cat food and some special milk for small kittens in a pet store close to her apartment block and then took a taxi to her destination. When she arrived she was greeted by a sight of a ginger ball of fur wrapped in a towel. As Carol suspected, it was too young for normal food, actually, it couldn't handle drinking the milk from a bowl so the girls had to feed it with a dropper they found in the apartment.

"Marieee..." started Carol hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"You know, I really appreciate how you helped me, but the main reason I called you is because I can't keep animals here and, if I remember correctly, pets are allowed where you live."

"Wait, what? Nooo, no, no..."

"Yeees, yes, yes. I mean if don't take the poor baby then there will be no other place for him to go."

"But I have a lot going on right now.''

"Oh, really? Becuase if I recall correctly, you spend your days on your couch binge-watching Superntural."

"Yeah, but I'm having my cast taken off soon and then I'm starting my rehabilitation and..." Marie stopped when she saw Carol's puppy eyes. "You won't stop pestering me until I agree, will you?" she got a curt nod as an answer and sighed. "I guess he is pretty cute."

"You know I'm pretty sure it's the first time in my life that I've seen you this drunk." remarked Donnie conversationally as he held open the door to her apartment block and watched her as she bumped into the door frame on her way in.

"Ss not my fault your fiancee decided to whip out her entire wine collection at me." giggled Marie as they waited for the, thankfully working, lift.

Soon they were standing in from of the door to her apartment and the man put down the bag with all the cat-related necessities and the box containing some old towel and the tiny cat. She handed him the key (her attempts at using it would probably be too embarrassing). However, before he could use it she leaned on the door and it opened under her weight, which resulted in her falling on her backside with undignified yelp.

"Seriously Marie? You know what kind of neighbourhood this is. You should know better than to just leave the door open." he shook his head, lifted her up and handed her her crutch which fell to the floor along with her.

"I could swear I closed it... I guess I was in a hurry." she said and made her way towards her couch while he came back out for the bag and the box.

"Where do you want me to leave the little guy?"

"Bathroom. There shouldn't be any leakage with that towel inside, but if something happens I want to have an easy clenup."

"Well then, the little guy is all fed and asleep so I guess I'll get going." She startled awake at the sudden sound of his voice and looked at him with hooded eyes.

"Thank you Donnie."

"No problem. See you tomorrow."he smiled and walked out of the room. " And don't forget to close the door behind me!" he added as he walked out into the corridor.

Marie sighed and lifted herself from the couch. She walked to the door, turned the key and checked twice if it really was closed. She leaned against the wall and spaced out for a moment. She wondered wheter to take a shower or not, but then relised that it would probably weake the cat. She walked to her room and there undressed until she was only in her underwear. She threw her clothes to the floor without any care. It's not like she had any shortage of time for housekeeping, she would take care of everything tomorrow.

The slim ray of sunlight that managed to creep into her bedroom through the gap between the drapes shone harshly into her eyes. A pained groan escaped her lips as she rolled from on side to the other and covered herself with her comforter. She stayed like that for a while trying to go back to sleep, but her headache prevented that from happening. She let out another sound to signal her sufferning and slowly sat up. The neon green numbers on her alarm clock were signalling 1:22 PM. She picked up the pile of clothes from the floor and took underwear from a drawer. With all of that in her arms she went to the bathroom, a hot shower was usually what she needed for hangover.

In the bathroom she put the old clothes into the washing mashing and turned it on. Then she walked under her adjusted shower. Just after her return from hospital she realised that she would have some trouble with showering with her leg so she bought two chep plastic stools. One of the she out in the cabin so she could sit on in, the other just outside to have somewhere where she could out her leg in the cast. As per usual she adjusted her water so it would be scalding and allowed herself to relax. She just sat like that for a moment and then proceeded to scrubbing herself clean, then she lathered her hair and massaged he head, though she did that gently since she felt as if there was a elephant tap dancing on her head.

'It's the last time I'm drinking with Carol' Marie laughed to herself, but it was quickly cut off by a sudden realisation. 'Where the hell is the cat?!'.

She washed out all the foam from her hair as quickly as she could and then put on the fresh clothes she brought with herself all the while hopping gracelessly on one leg. The moment she dragged the hem of the t-shirt to her thighs she grabbed her crutched and set off in search of the box.

She was certain that Donnie put it in the bathroom, so what the hell happened?

The answer she received was not one she had ever expected, but definitely one she would remember to the end of her days.

There, in her kitchen, stood a man. His clothes looked old and baggy, especially his pants, but she could see the reason for that in a familiar outline of a cast underneath them. The fact that he was exceptionally tall and rather lanky added to such look. His entire head was coverd in bandages, but here and there a stand of brown hair would escape its confines. And of course, the eyes. Crystal blue, piercing eyes, that she could recognise everywhere.

A minute or two passed with them just staring at each other. Marie couldn't really see his expression, but she was sure hers resembled one of a fish taken out from the water.

Goddamn Scarecrow stood in her kitchen and he was... feeding her little kitten?

That seemed so bizarre, but there he was, holding a dropper filled with milk in one hand, and a small, ginger ball in other. She wasn't sure how long the stayed that way gaping at each other, but at one point the milk in the dropper ran out and they were taken out of the daze by silent mewling of a hungry kitten. Scarecrow quickly regained composure and turned to the bottle with milk on the counter to refill and glanced down on the animal in his hands.

"It wouldn't stop making noise and you were too much out of it to take care of that." he said calmly, not taking his eyes from the pet. Marie felt a shiver run down her spine. She blamed it on the fact that the water from her hair was slowly drenching her t-shirt. It had totally nothing to do with his voice that sounded familiar, but somehow deeper, a bit more gravelly, maybe even husky?

"To be honest..."she started hesitantly "I don't even know from which question to start from. I mean... I... You... What..." she huffed irritated and started to rub her temples in hope of managing her growning headache. "What the hell is going on?"

"I need a place to lay low."

Again they ended up in a staring contest. Marie could feel the fine hair on he arms rise and she dreamed of nothing else, but going to her room for some pants, but she didn't want him to think he somhow affected her and there was also the fact that she couldn't just leave him like that. In her kitchen. With a kitten in his arms.

"Are you expecting me to offer you a place to stay?" she asked after another moment of silence. She saw his jaw twitch through the bandages and almost laughed out loud. A part of her was tempted to make him ask for it, even beg. Another part of her, the one that had survival instinct, let out a loud sigh and continued. "Listen, I'm too hangover to deal with any of that right now, you can stay till tomorrow and then we'll talk. But you do realise I could just call the police? Or even Commissioner so he could get Batman. Don't you Rogues have your fancy hideouts, where there are no civilians who could rat you out?"

"I know you won't call anyone. I needed a place where no one would think to look for me. I intend to keep the advantage of being presumed dead."

Marie felt the corners of her lips tug up in a smirk. He was so careful with his phrasing. He couldn't just say 'I trust YOU', even though that was what he really meant. If he really wanted to remain presumed dead then he really was risking a lot showing up in her apartment. She leaned her crutches against the corner and opened the drawer in which she kept meds. She took out some painkillers and poured herself a glass of water. By the time she was done with that, he finished the feeding process and put the milk bottle into the fridge.

Then, without a word, she hobbled out of the kitchen and into her bedroom to finally put on some pants. On her way back she stopped in tha bathroom to brush her teeth and started wondering about breakfast. At that moment she didn't trust her stomach enough to eat anything, but was she supposed to feed him? How was that supposed to work?

Before she returned to to kitchen she remembered one more thing from the previous evening and went to the front door. She pulled at the handle, but the wouldn't budge.

"When did you get here?" asked Marie when she returned to the kitchen.

"Yesterday evening, I was here when you returned." he replied and held out a kitten towards her with urgency in his eyes. She smiled, took the cat away from him and cradled it to her chest. "I stayed in the other room while your friend was here. In the beginning I intended to talk to you immediately, but when I saw your state..." she could feel the blush as it appeared on her cheeks.

"Wait, so you picked my lock?" she asked surprised.

"I had to get in here somehow. Why are you so surprised?"

"I guess picking locks doesn't exactly go along with your Master of Fear persona."

"Well, it's not like I could scare your door into obedience."

She looked up at him, surprised by his attempt at humor and a quiet laugh he gave. That was one hell of a reunion.


End file.
